The captain told liverpoolfc.com: "I owe a huge debt to him. He gave me my opportunity to play for the first team; he gave me a lot of good advice both on and off the pitch and about how to behave, how to perform and how to be a professional.

"He also helped me to grow as a player, both tactically and technically, and he gave me the confidence and the belief to become the player I am today. For him to give me the captaincy at one of the biggest clubs in the world at 23 told me just how much confidence he had in me. From that point on it was all about me paying him back."